Apartment or Hotel? You Decide

Choosing the accommodation when you travel to a new city or even an entirely new country can be one of the most vital choices of the entire trip. Get it wrong and you’ll never be able to relax and get a good night’s sleep where you’re staying, leaving you tired, stressed and unable to appreciate the rest of your holiday. Get it right, on the other hand, and you can simply forget about the place you’re staying in and concentrate on everything else which your destination has to offer. After all, perhaps the highest compliment you can pay a holiday accommodation is that it feels like a home away from home, with the relaxed feel and familiar comfort of your own home, but offering the excitement of a whole new place just outside the door.

For many people, the choice to make will boil down to whether you rent an apartment or a room in a hotel. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and the ultimate decision will probably be based upon your personal circumstances and the kind of experience you’re looking for. A hotel, for example, might seem to be the logical choice if you’re embarking on a romantic trip for two. All of your needs are catered for, and indulgences such as breakfast in bed, champagne for supper and an awaiting bunch of flowers can all be ordered simply by picking up the phone. If you’re travelling with children, however, a hotel might not seem like such a good choice.

Choosing the accommodation when you travel

Even the largest room can start to feel a little claustrophobic after you and a couple of children have spent a few days there, and kids’ natural response to this tends to be to run around and make as much noise as possible! This may not be a lot of fun for the other guests in the hotel and, even if they don’t mind a couple of noisy kids, the fact that you’re worrying about it will stop you relaxing and enjoying your own stay. All too often, taking kids to a hotel, particularly the more upmarket variety, can become an endless round of telling them to be quiet, worrying that they’re about to break some expensive item in the room and keeping an eye out for any attempts to access the mini bar. Taking children to an apartment rental, on the other hand, can feel much more like simply transplanting your own home to a new and exciting location. With multiple rooms, your kids will have somewhere to go off and play on their own, and the fact that you can cater for yourself means that you’ll be able to come and go as you please, cooking your own meals rather than being tied to a hotel timetable. Not only is this convenient, it is also more affordable, and purchasing and preparing fresh local ingredients is one of the best and most enjoyable ways of getting to discover a new cuisine.

In the end the decision will be based on how many people are in your party and what kind of holiday you’re looking for. If it’s raucous family fun you seek, then an apartment rental might well be best, whilst couples seeking a relaxing break will probably prefer the pampering of a hotel.